Return to the Cité du Patrimoine

About 2 weeks ago, I took this photo and said I would tell you all about the wonderful museum outside of which I took it. Now is the time... It's called "La cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine" and it allows you to see the most beautiful sculptures/doors/gargoyles... of the main French religious buildings since the very first ages in one single place. And it's not just paintings of photos but actual casts of originals. It's very impressive (have a look at this or this or this to have a global view), moving and beautiful. I chose to show you one of the many "Pleurant" (Mourners?) that are part of Jean sans Peur's tomb.

Outside Le Trocadéro

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to "La Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine", a museum I will tell you more about later. After my visit, I had a coffee on the little terrace they have right outside one wing of Le Trocadero (and yes, the weather was nicer than expected!). Here is the scenery I could see when looking at the sky. Pretty cool.

A piece of Baccarat

OK, today let me take you to... the Baccarat house, the famous French crystal maker founded in 1764, where I was today. I know what you're going to say - especially you phx-cdg! -, I get to go to more places than the "average Pierre"... But it's actually not true ; anybody can go there and have dinner in their fabulous crystal room - redecorated by Philip Stark, s'il vous plaît!. Anybody can also visit the boutique, the gallery-museum and the grand ballroom of exceptional craftsmanship (where I took this photo.) Here, I chose to post this one because I thought it was more mysterious! Needless to say that all chandeliers there are made of crystal.

Are the Olympics still games?

Unless you live under a rock, you probably heard what happened to the Olympic torch yesterday (Monday) in Paris: it had to be put out by officials after numerous attempts to disrupt its progression throughout the streets of Paris. Eventually, the torch was placed on a bus, several times, to protect it from demonstrators. Of course your favorite reporter from PDP had to witness this and so I did! I went to the Place de L'Alma and got caught in the middle of the turmoil. Scary, but fun... Here are some of the dozens of shots that I took there.

Will you marry me?

I'm sure that once you've read this story, you'll go "Awwwwwww!" On March 6th, I received an email from a young man in the U.S., Manu. He said something like, "My girlfriend, Smitha, and I have been reading your blog every day for the past two months in preparation for a trip to Paris. What she doesn't know is that I plan on proposing to her while we are there, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Could you happen to secretly be there to take a photo of us and then we can surprise her by publishing it on your blog?" My romantic soul couldn't resist, so, we arranged for a time and place, and there I was last night (Monday) at 7:45 pm sharp on the Passerelle Debilly. By the way, we did not even talk. All this was to remain a secret until today! - so I don't even know if she said yes. I'm pretty sure she did though...who could resist a fiancé who does all this to win the heart of his wife-to-be? P.S. My camera could have done with a little more light, for sure, but it's enough to keep the memory.

It's raining again...

The nice weather could not last forever... The forecasts are absolutely dreadful! Cold and rainy. Or rather, what we call "Les giboulées de mars", that is a mix of rain and sun within the same day. After all it's not that bad, at least for me. My scooter is still down so I take the Metro and the rain allows to take cool photos, like this one! FYI, if you're interested in the Paris weather, let me recommend this website or this one.

A message for you...

Here is my message to you all! It's a shop window of Franck & Fils (a very traditional department store) I noticed a couple of days ago while I was going to my niece's near La Muette. Only, exceptionally I did not have my camera with me. So tonight, when I left the office I went all the way to rue de Passy, waited for someone to pass by the window and took this shot. Don't ask me why they used Love and not amour though! Anyway, my dear visitors, let me wish you all a happy Valentines day ;)

Washington Statue

No, this place is not called Washington square but Place d'Iena, but the statue its middle is definitely the one of George Washington. Apparently GW was our friend during the American revolution; we provided him with gun powder (of course, our only aim was probably to drive the Brits crazy, but that is another story!) We the (French) are known for being sometimes anti American and though there are hundreds of American statues/street names/ buildings... in Paris. Not to mention Mc Donald's and Starbucks LOL!

Another Notre Dame

After the "big" Notre-Dame of yesterday, here is a much smaller one - called Notre-Dame de Grace de Passy (Passy is a quarter that used to be a little village up the hill before it was integrated into Paris in 1860). I never noticed it before although it's really cute and... old (the original parts - it's been renewed and enlarged since then) were built in 1667! Have a nice weekend.

Hotel Everland

Despite what you may think the important part in this photo is not the statue in the foreground, nor the impressive columns of the Paris modern art museum in the background but the green "capsule" on top of the building. And do you know what it is? A piece of art and... a hotel room!
Yes, people, if you're looking for a - very original - place to stay in Paris, well you have until December 31, 2008 to book this room. Needless to say that you have to be very patient, for they only allow bookings 2 months in advance, in order to give everyone a chance... Give me your feedback if you do it! Find out everything about the Everland hotel here.

Horse power

You want to know what we do in Paris to fight global warming and pollution? We switched back to horses! OK, I'm kidding... And though this is really a man on a horse that I photographed this morning (Sunday) in front of the Galliera Palace (that I already showed here). He was not the only one... Dozens of horse riders and carriage drivers did the same. Why? Because they were all taking part in a big march to celebrate the opening of Le Salon du Cheval , a big fair dedicated to horses. And a special thank you to Serge, who emailed me to let me know about this march and who maybe in the other photos I took.

A Geometry lesson

I don't know if it happens to you, but sometimes, when I drive by a street scene and I think to myself: "this has a good chance of making a nice photo". That is exactly what I thought to myself when I passed by this school (I guess it's a school, I am not 100% sure) near the river banks in the lower 16th arrondissement (Quai Saint Exupéry, more precisely). I love the color, the geometry and the disposition of the various objects and people. It's cold in Paris, but I'm glad it's Le Weekend!

Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance

Some of you will think I'm late on the blue theme day, but the truth is that I hesitated between yesterday's photo and this one. It's a shot I took recently during a demonstration for Falun Dafa (a Chinese "mind and body cultivation" movement) that is apparently banned in China. When I took this photo I changed - by mistake - one of the settings of my camera and that is how this photo ended up, er.., blue! I kinda like it this way, it looks as if was taken in the morning in a very peaceful moment (the Falun Dafa effect?).

Mr Peacock in Paris

What do you mean, this photo was not taken in Paris?! I took it in the Bagatelle Gardens, located in the Bois de Boulogne (big woods on the west side of Paris) which is technically in the 16th arrondissement! These gardens were created in 1777 and now shelter several interesting points including a huge rose garden, that I already mentioned here, and - noisy - peacocks. Today we're changing time in Europe, I'm looking forward to sleeping an extra hour...

Paris Newlywed

I just got back to Paris after a week vacation and, well, I could not help touring my city once again! I went to many places and ended up in Le Trocadero where I was lucky enough to photograph this newlywed couple (I think they are Russian) in front of the Eiffel Tower. Yes, I know, it's the perfect cliché but still, it makes a good photo ;) Update: if you're planning a wedding in Paris, my I suggest you take a look at Jay's photos...

Last lunch outside?

It's getting colder and colder in Paris and the leaves are turning yellow... Feels like Fall is on its way. Fortunately there was enough sun today for me to have lunch outside at Tsé, a cool Chinese restaurant on rue d'Auteuil. It's located in a former train station belonging to a line that that used to run around Paris and that I photographed a long long time ago.

Le corbeau et le renard

The Crow and The Fox is one of the many fables by the famous man depicted in this statue, 17th century writer, Jean de la Fontaine. Every French school child has grown up with his stories, usually with a moral, similar to Aesop or Phaedrus. This statue is located near La Muette - Auteuil, and is a fine tribute to this former member of the Académie Française.

Paris hosts the Rugby World Cup

As you may know, this year France (OK, and Scotland too!) is hosting the 2007 Rugby World Cup. And today (Friday) is the big day: not only will the opening take place, but also the first match; France is to beat play Argentina @ 9 pm French time. Needless to say, life will stop for a couple of hours, LOL. On this special occasion, the Eiffel Tower is wearing its festive coulours (see livecam here). Everything you want to know is here.

Breakdance in Paris

Forget the waltz and the accordion music! Modern French dancers are just like anyone in the world: they prefer break dancing... Funny to see how this dance, that was initially considered as a "ghetto" thing has now become a "normal" dance that you can learn in dancing schools and that is even performed in "classical" music festivals - even recently in the ballet part of the Jewess opera by Halevy. Have a good Sunday - I'll be packing up...

Third world Police Station?

This Police station belongs to a country that claims to have the 7th largest GDP in the world: France! And I did not take this photo in the poorest area of Paris, I did at La Muette, a place known for belonging to one of the richest arrondissements in Paris: the 16th... FYI, this police station belongs to the Districts Police Unit (unité de Police de quartier) which, apparently, is different from a "normal" police station. (Much poorer maybe?)